Archive \ Volume.7 2018 Issue 1

Structure and Diversity Pattern of Urban Birds in Semi-Arid Region of Algeria

Abstract

With the aim to evaluate the urban birds’ diversity, this study was conducted in a semi-arid region of Algeria in an old city characterized by homogeneous habitats. The monitoring was carried out during two consecutive years, from January 2013 to December 2014, allowed assessing 32 species, representing 09 orders and 20 families. Passeriformes were the most, represented by 20 species. The families most represented were Fringillidae, Muscicapidae and Colombidae by 5, 4 and 3 species, respectively. Resident breeders were the most dominant by 20 species (63 %), whereas 08 species (25 %) are summer migrants. Only 2 species were wintering and passage migrants; where, 24 passerines and 8 non passerines species were assessed. However, opportunistic and tolerant species are the most abundant. Overall, the socio-economic activities of the study area and urbanization landscape are the main factors in species structure and abundance in this city. These findings are important to estimate the effect of urbanization pressure on biodiversity, especially urban birds, and relevant to future urban management by offering various habitat types.